In the wake of mounting evidence for the efficacy of psychedelic-assisted therapies, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is considering approving psilocybin, the active ingredient in “magic mushrooms,” for treating depression in the near future. As this watershed moment approaches, a critical question arises: Just how many people might stand to benefit from this promising but still unproven therapy? Shedding light on this high-stakes inquiry, a first-of-its-kind study led by researchers at Emory University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and UC Berkeley. The study is published in Psychedelics and has generated initial estimates of the potential demand for psilocybin-assisted therapy for depression in the United States. The paper is titled “An Estimate of the Number of People with Clinical Depression Eligible for Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy in the United States.” ….more
